I have been studying thiamine metabolism since 1969 when I published the first case of thiamine dependency: Intermittent cerebellar ataxia associated with hyperpyruvic acidemia, hyperalaninemia, and hyperalaninuria. The case involved a 6-year old boy experiencing recurrent episodes of cerebellar ataxia (a brain disease resulting in complete loss of a sense of balance). These episodes, occurring intermittently, […]
For DES Daughters, Conception and Pregnancy Are DifficultMy first pregnancy, now 30 years back, was difficult. I am a DES daughter and after years of trying to conceive naturally, we tried in-vitro fertilization (IVF), which was pretty new at the time. The first IVF attempt led to a miscarriage. The second IVF attempt was successful […]
Lifelong Hearing LossAt the age of nine years old, I was diagnosed with progressive sensorineural hearing loss. At that time, I already had a 60% loss in the high tones. No one knew I was deaf because I had adapted and learned to lipread. I suspect most people I encounter these days don’t realize how […]
Ever think about zooplankton? Yea, me neither. Heck, until recently I had only a vague understanding of what these creatures were. I thought they were sea plants of some sort. Perhaps the ‘zoo’ in the name should have clued me in. It didn’t. Go ahead, you can laugh. My knowledge of fifth grade ocean biology […]
Over the last several years, stories of young women, many of them athletes (here, here), suffering from dangerous and sometimes deadly blood clots have filled the press and academic literature (here, here, here). Often mentioned in passing is the fact that these women were taking hormonal contraceptives at the time of the event. As a mom […]
“The Earth is badly Floxed.”I’m not sure if the person who wrote that meant it literally or figuratively, but, I agree – both literally and figuratively – the earth is badly floxed. (“Floxed” is short-hand for suffering from fluoroquinolone toxicity – an adverse reaction to cipro/ciprofloxacin, levaquin/levofloxacin, avelox/moxifloxacin or any of the other fluoroquinolone antibiotics. […]
In the Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2018, Your Health, written by Sumathi Reddy, recorded the case of a 34-year-old pregnant woman who went to the hospital with shortness of breath and dizziness. Doctors decided that they were “pregnancy-related symptoms and nothing to be overly concerned about”. The column goes on to say that eight […]
Infertility is really, really hard. It’s harder than I’ve ever even admitted to myself. It’s also deeply personal. Reminders of your infertility are everywhere. I’m not just talking about all of the babies at the employee picnic or the pregnant women at the grocery store or the mailbox full of baby announcements and shower invitations. […]